Page 14 of Gilded Princess

Shoves devolve into punches, and two guys turn into four. All I can do is stare, wide-eyed, as people I’ve known for years just totally lose their shit on one another.

Someone gets shoved into me from behind, and I lose my footing and fall into my mystery man in front of me. I absentmindedly realize I need to ask his name so I stop referring to him as “mystery man.”

His hands come up to my shoulders, steadying me on my feet. I look at his face, wishing not for the first time that I could see his features clearly. His dark gaze is intense as he holds my stare. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I fight the urge to kiss him. It’s most definitely not the time for kissing.

But later, I vow to myself. Later, there will be plenty of time for kissing.

He uses his hold on my shoulders to move me to the side, smoothly stepping in front of me.

In a move so quick if I would’ve blinked, I would’ve missed it, he takes a step forward and punches a guy who was advancing on us with a folding chair over his head. He falls like a sack of potatoes.

I feel my eyebrows in my hairline. A wave of warmth rolls through me, followed by a tendril of lust.

He turns around to face me, his hand finding mine again, and walks like he didn’t just knockout some guy with one punch.

I forget for a moment that we’re in the middle of chaos, a little mesmerized by him. I shake my head and quicken my steps to keep up with his pace as he maneuvers us around the room.

“Aries.” The word flies from my mouth before I can stop it. All that passion on the dance floor and that take-charge attitude—I’d bet my favorite pair of shoes that he’s an Aries.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I study his profile backlit by the flashlights moving around the room. He’s at home in the darkness, moving us around obstacles with ease.

Maybe he’s more my type than I realized.

Shifting his gaze to look at me across his shoulder, he flashes me a smirk. “What’s that?”

I feel my lips curling up to mimic his smirk. “You’re an Aries, aren’t you?”

He doesn’t answer me for a moment, just quickens our pace until we catch up to Blaire and the girls.

“Jesus, what the hell is happening in there?” Peggy asks with a glance over her shoulder. “And why the hell did the lights go out? Is it storming?”

We cross the threshold to another part of the venue I’ve never been in before. Emergency lights line the ornate carpet runner—they must have a generator for this very reason.

“Rolling blackouts, remember? C’mon, we’re almost to the alleyway exit.” Blaire tips her head toward the space in front of her. I squint when I see a glowing red exit sign.

They’ve been talking about these rolling blackouts all summer—something about easing the burden of electricity so all the overuse doesn’t totally fry our systems.

Peggy nods, her curls bouncing with the movement. “Right. If I don’t have air conditioning when I get back to my dorm, I’m going to call a car to take me home. Daddy said they’d have the air on in one wing of the house.”

Aries snickers next to me, quiet enough that the girls don’t hear him, but I do. I don’t look at him, instead roll my lips under my teeth to stop myself from laughing. But really, her entire sentence is so ridiculous.

Blaire pushes against a metal door, and I brace myself for some kind of alarm or something, but the silence greets us. Even the chaotic sounds of fighting have faded.

Billows of humid smog greet us, instantly weighing heavy against my chest. Looking around, I notice the darkness surrounding us. “How many blocks go at a time? Does anyone know?”

Blaire shakes her head. “I don’t remember. I honestly thought Mayor Chambers was going to pull some strings so this block didn’t get hit tonight like the city planned. I’m not sure what happened there.”

Rotten garbage wafts into the air, and I turn my face to bury my nose in Aries’s suit. I feel more than hear his chuckle, and he throws an arm around my shoulders, pulling me further against his hard body.

Our footsteps are loud, echoing off the surrounding brick of the venue’s building and the neighboring one. I think it’s a deli if I remember right.

The general noise gets louder the closer we get to the street, and I sort of dread going out there. I kind of expect cops to be there to question people about the fighting—especially since a lot of those guys attend the elite boys’ school where they have a strict policy about violence.

I slow my steps and watch Blaire wave down her town car. The driver maneuvers it through the throngs of people pouring into the street like a pro. She stands between the car and the door, looking over the door and wiggling her fingers in the air.

“C’mon, babe! I’ll give you a lift.”

“I’ll be right there!” I flutter my fingers back at her, and she gets back in the car.

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